WPG Petition For Inquiry

"A Petition For Inquiry by the Water Pressure
Group (Auckland) into the Auckland Local Body Election has
been filed in the Auckland District Court. We are now
waiting for a hearing date. The wording of the Petition For
Inquiry follows below," said Penny Bright Water ,Water
Pressure Group Media
Spokesperson.

________________________________________________________

PETITION
FOR INQUIRY

In the matter of an election into the office
of Councilors for the Auckland City Council held on
Saturday, the 13th day of October 2001.

To the District
Court Judge exercising jurisdiction at the District Court
at Auckland, being the Courthouse at or nearest to the
principal polling place.

THE petition of the undersigned
electors of the Auckland area namely: (Names and addresses
of 10 undersigned electors of the Auckland area.)

1. Your
petitioners state that the said election was held on the
13th day of October 2001 when Graeme Mulholland, David Hay,
Paul Forlong and Noeline Raffills were candidates, and the
Returning Officer has returned Graeme Mulholland, David Hay
and Noeline Raffills as being duly elected.

2. And your
petitioners say that:

(a) In a Loyalty Statement by
Intending Candidates, which the said candidates pledged to
support, it was stated that Auckland Citizen and Ratepayers
Now ("ACRN") believed that "Service provision should be
contracted out as much as possible", including water and
stormwater, and "In the long term (5+years) we look forward
to a public-private operating partnership structure that
works so well in other countries/jurisdictions (such as
Victoria, Australia, and many communities in the
USA)."

(b) It is understood that for prospective
candidates to have received endorsement from ACRN they must
have signed the pledge outlined above.

(c) This position
accords with a statement to the media in Saturday 11 April
1998, by policy spokesperson Angus Ogilvie which stated
that Auckland Now's policy follows the example of Papakura
District Council, which contracted a private company,
United Water to manage its water and wastewater
services.

(d) However in a statement by Mr Angus Ogilvie
Vice-President of Auckland Now on 17 September 2001 made in
response to a request from the Water Pressure Group for the
position of ACRN on water services, the response also being
circulated to Auckland City Council candidates, Mr Ogilvie
said:

"My point, Penny is that Auckland Now does not have
a privatisation agenda nor does C & R. I trust that allays
any concerns your group may have on this score. As stated,
we have not released our water policy and will do in due
course."

(e) In addition an election handbill authorised
by Mr Maurice Chatfield ACRN Secretary, and signed by ACRN
candidates Graeme Mulholland, David Hay, Noeline Raffills
and Paul Forlong and circularized in the Avondale/Mt
Roskill area by these candidates stated that they "have
never, and will never support privatisation of water and
sewerage assets."

(f) It is submitted then that Mr
Ogilvie's emailed statement to Ms Penny Bright, an elector,
was a misrepresentation and was intended to be a fraudulent
means of inducing Ms Bright and other members of the Water
Pressure Group to vote for ACRN.

(g) It is submitted that
the election handbill is a falsehood and so is a fraudulent
device perpetrated for the purpose of inducing electors to
vote for the named candidates by misrepresenting these
named candidates as opposed to the privatization of the
Auckland water supply when they had in fact
contemporaneously pledged to support the future
privatization of Auckland's water supply.

(h) It is
submitted that such frauds constitute acts of Undue
Influence proscribed by s127 Local Electoral Act 2001 which
states:

"Every person commits the offence of undue
influence....

who by any fraudulent device or
means...

induces.. any elector...to vote."

(i) When the
petitioners brought this fraud to the attention of the
Returning Officer by Ms Penny Bright ringing the Electoral
Officer on 24 September 2001, she was told that the
Electoral Officer had no powers to investigate a
complaint.

(j) This conversation was referred to in the
subsequent correspondence from the Returning
Officer.

(k) It is submitted that the Returning Officer is
in breach of s 131 which states:

Every electoral officer,
deputy electoral officer, or other electoral official
commits an offence, and is liable on summary conviction to
a fine not exceeding $2000, who is guilty of any intentional
or reckless act of commission or omission contrary to the
provisions of the Act or regulations made under this Act in
respect of any election or poll, and for which no other
penalty is imposed by this Act or regulations made under
this Act.

(l) The duty to which this breach attaches is
s15 of the Act which states that:

An electoral officer is
responsible, in accordance with the provisions of this Act
and regulations made under this Act, for investigating
possible offences and reporting alleged offences to the
police.

In addition s138 of the Act states that:

If the
electoral officer receives a written complaint that an
offence under this Part has been committed; or believes for
any other reason that an offence under this part may have
been committed, the electoral officer must report that
matter to the police together with the results of any
enquiries made by the electoral officer that he or she
considers appropriate.

Wherefore your petitioners pray
that it may be determined that the Returning Officer and Mr
Ogilvie are in breach of this Act and that the said Graeme
Mulholland, David Hay and Noeline Raffills were not duly
elected, and that the election was void.

Dated at Auckland
this 9th day of November 2001.

(Signed by the 10
petitioners.)

________________________________________________________

"It
has cost the Water Pressure Group (Auckland) money to lodge
this legal challenge, and we really need financial
assistance. Any individuals or community organisations
wishing to assist please make out cheques to:

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